Ancient Stories Provided An Early Warning About Potential Seattle Earthquakes

Science
I deal with the rocky road to our modern understanding of earth

Oral tradition played - and still plays - an important role in many societies. The subjects of these stories range from fantastic fairy tales to myths, tales based on real persons, places or historic events. But interestingly enough, these stories may also represent attempts to record and transfer knowledge of past geological catastrophes as a warning from generation to generation.

In 1896, the geologist B.K. Emerson published an article where he proposed that not only landscapes, but also geological phenomena, like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods or landslides inspired ancient people, who explained their origin in "geological myths."

I propose to trace the history of several myths which have their origin in remarkable geological phenomena,...[]…; but as meaning a history, treasured and hallowed in the literary and religious archives of an ancient folk, of some startling or impressive event, that, in the stimulating environment of poetry and personification, has completed a long evolution, which disguises entirely its original,-

In recent years, studying such ancient myths revealed many previously unrecognized geohazards, which have helped to improve our modern infrastructure and prepare against future threats.

According to myths of the Duwamish people of the Pacific Northwest's Cascade Range, some large boulders found along the shores of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the area surrounding the city of Seattle are haunted by terrible A'yahos. A'yahos were shape-shifting spirits, described often as a dangerous entity with the body of a snake and the head and forelegs of a deer. Young hunters were warned by elder ones not to approach an A'yahos dwelling place, as they would shake the earth and sea, generate large waves and throw large boulders to kill a foolish intruder.

The Quileute people of western Washington told tales of a similar dangerous being, called T'abale. The Kwakwaka'wakw (or Kwakiutl) of Vancouver Island tell stories about the double-headed water serpent Sisutl, who will shake the earth and capture the souls of the people if enraged.

Many myths along the shores of Washington narrate the earth-shattering and landscape-altering battles of A'yahos or related spirits with other mythical animals. According to the Suquamish Tribe:

Long ago, when this land was new, the area we know as Agate Pass was much smaller than today. … There lived in this … body of water a … Giant Serpent. The Double Headed Eagle flew over the pass and the Giant Serpent came up very angry. The two began to fight, and the earth shook and the water boiled … the people began to scream and cry until it was as loud as thunder.

Then, as if the earth was going to be swallowed by the waters, they began to boil and churn. Then, the Double Headed Eagle exploded out of the water and up into the sky with the body of the Giant Serpent in its claws. The Double Headed Eagle flew back into the mountain and behind him was left the wide pass ….

In 1985, seismologist Ruth S. Ludwin described a spirit boulder supposedly haunted by an A´yahos, the similarities between the environmental effects of an earthquakeand the supposed effects of a battle with an A'yahos in an article published in the Seattle Weekly,:

At the spot where A'yahos came to a person the very earth was torn, landslides occurred and the trees became twisted and warped. Such spots were recognizable for years afterward.

Ludwin mapped various cursed boulders and recognized a connection between the A'yahos-boulders and the alignment of various shallow faults, most notably the east-west striking Seattle Fault Zone.

Locations of supposed A’yahos-boulders (yellow dots) after local myths and simplified tectonic map of the area of Seattle; shallow faults in red, deep faults in orange.

Last week, The New Yorkerpublished an article suggesting that the Pacific Northwest is a likely target for a major earthquake. This was the culmination of years of work and a few decades ago, this article may have been jeered at. After all, the city of Seattle has never been hit in modern times by a major earthquake - just fifty years ago, geologists didn't even know there was a fault there.

Had more people paid attention to the stories of the local populations, though, the earthquake dangers might have been known earlier. The myths of A'yahos often refer to historical figures and probably date back only a few generations to the 18th century. Later discovered geological evidence and dated archaeological sites provide compelling evidence that the coast had been hit by strong earthquakes and tsunami-waves in historic times. In response to this, many cities in the region are reinforcing infrastructure to be better prepared should the earthquakes come - but a lot of work still needs done.

But had we listened to the stories of ages past, we might have been more prepared today.